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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26027512">Comfortable</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TotalObesity/pseuds/TotalObesity'>TotalObesity</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Life Is Strange (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Belly, Belly Rubs, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/F, Fat - Freeform, Feeding, Gaining, Weight Gain, relationship weight</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 07:06:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,173</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26027512</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TotalObesity/pseuds/TotalObesity</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Set in 2022, Max and Chloe are living in Portland, and the pair have settled into a comfortable domestic routine as both of them feel far more settled in themselves. Good food and drink and the lack of strife has been good for them but perhaps not so much for Chloe as the relationship weight becomes a reality for her as she becomes comfortable with life.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Maxine "Max" Caulfield/Chloe Price</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>50</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had been a long day, too long, when Chloe finally reached the door of her apartment. "Fuck," Growling as she fumbled with her keys a little she finally made it inside and dumped her jacket and boots at the entryway. "I swear I'm gonna kick that pricks ass if he screws up one more job like that again."</p><p>Having made enough noise that the neighbours probably heard Chloe sighed, trying to release the tension as she flumped down on the couch, closing her eyes to block out the world.</p><p>"Bad day?" Max asked approaching with a beer in one had and a bowl of crisps in the other.</p><p>Chloe opened one eye, looking over at her fiancé. Max hadn't changed dramatically in the last 8 and a bit years since they left Arcadia Bay. Not quite as delicate but still slim in stature, her hair a little longer which occasionally was tied in a pony tail, and she was more outwardly confident in her approach having had success in her chosen field, but underneath she was still the same adorable freckled woman Chloe had fallen for many moons ago.</p><p>Humming in agreement Chloe took another deep breath before vigorously rubbing her face and sitting up a little as she accepted the offered treats. Taking a long swig from the bottle, "Thanks, babe."</p><p>"How bad was it?" Max prompted, sitting down beside her.</p><p>"It's Steve," Chloe took another swig, "Again…. Shit-fucker doesn't check things and I had to deal with a pissed off customer. Ended up having to redo the entire job again to make sure it was fixed before the shop shut."</p><p>Continuing her grumbling, "It wouldn't be my problem before I got that promotion, but the owner was out and I'm the lead tech now so if a jobs fucked it's my head on the line till it's fixed. Need to get Dave to have a word with him or I'm gonna slam the hood down on his head next time he's in."</p><p>Knowing it was just a rant and not actually going to lead to attempted murder Max just snuggled in as Chloe lifted her arm around the shorter woman's shoulders and nuzzled the mop of brown hair. Enjoying a moment of peace and the comfort of the others presence.</p><p>"You want me to heat dinner up just now or do you want to relax first?" Max asked. "I've got Mac and Cheese ready to warm up, I just need to fry some bacon to add and we can eat."</p><p>"You haven't had anything yet?" Chloe frowned, she didn't like the thought of Max putting herself out too because of someone else's issue, "You didn't need to wait on me."</p><p>"I was finishing some edits on a recent shoot, so I lost track of the time a little, besides, I had a late lunch." Max replied with a shrug, although truth be told she was pretty damn hungry herself by this time of the evening.</p><p>At that Chloe snorted unable to resist from teasing a little. "Lost track of time, sure, whatever you say, Time Lord."</p><p>It earned her a sarcastic "Ha!" and a prodded finger to the mid-section, which if she had paid attention she would have noticed the finger sinking into the softer middle that had developed in recent years.</p><p>It had been quite some time since that fateful week in 2013. For the most part they had both accepted and moved on from the trauma that would occasionally rear its head. These days it mainly cropped up around important dates such as Rachel's birthday or the anniversary of the storm, but they had both learnt to lean on each other in those moments. Eventually leading to them being able to joke about that point in time without it bringing up the emotional strain it originally wrought.</p><p>"I'll go put dinner on," Max extracted herself from the embrace giving Chloe a peck on the cheek as she went, heading off to the kitchen, "You finish your beer and go wash up."</p><p>Feeling some of the tension fade Chloe made quick work of finishing off the beer and most of the crisps. She'd definitely needed that after today she thought to herself as she wandered off to the bathroom.</p>
<hr/><p>Dinner was plated up by the time Chloe returned, and it smelled damned delicious. As much as she was the better chef of the two, thanks to her parents teaching her a good deal when she was younger, she couldn't deny that Max's Mac and Cheese was something to die for. So, to see the plateful Max had served up for her she couldn't help but drool.</p><p>"There's some garlic bread too if you want some," Max nodded toward the counter where half a baguette left over from a previous night was fresh out of the oven.</p><p>Chloe happily scooped this up along with her plate and another beer for good measure. She was starving as far as her stomach was concerned and this was a meal that would definitely satisfy.</p><p>The sauce was thick and creamy coating every bit of pasta and with tons of bacon bits to add a salty edge to the sweetness of the dish. The good food combined with the company of the woman she loved and conversation about their upcoming trip, surrounding Max's next gallery showing in New York in a few months' time, Chloe felt herself truly relaxed and happy.</p><p>The conversation ended up, as it often does, with them reminiscing about previous trips they had taken over the years, Max's first gallery showing, and the few road trips they had managed while Max was at college just to get away from the stress of exams and life.</p><p>It didn't take long before Chloe's plate was cleared and although she had a portion probably twice the size of the one Max had, she finished about the same time. Sitting back, she groaned and stretched, "Fuck, that hit the spot, dude."</p><p>Max smiled with a mix of pride and something Chloe couldn't quite work out but dismissed it as her being too tired. She figured her plan for the rest of the night was to finish her beer then veg out on the couch. Only trouble was she discovered, was that her beer was already finished causing an unconscious sigh directed at the empty bottle.</p><p>"Why don't you go put your feet up and I'll join you once I've dealt with the plates?" Max offered, seeing Chloe needed to just chill out tonight.</p><p>"You sure?" Chloe questioned, "I don't mind doing them since you cooked."</p><p>"Uh-uh, I mean it go sit down," Max commanded, getting her bossy look on that she knew Chloe appreciated in more ways than one.</p><p>"Yes, ma'am," Chloe mocked saluted before complying and finding her way back to the groove in the couch she had made a start to earlier while Max collected the plates and cutlery.</p>
<hr/><p>Settling back against the couch once more Chloe turned her attention to her phone, aimlessly scrolling through her feed, pausing to comment on her tattoo artists recent update which showed off the start of the line work on her new left arm sleeve. It was then that Max reappeared with another bottle and started replenishing the bowl of crisps, this time with Chloe's favourite BBQ crinkle cut ones.</p><p>"I'll be back in a bit; I'm just going to change into my PJs" Max called out as she wandered back to the hallway leaving Chloe to her own devices yet again.</p><p>After scrolling through her messages and finding nothing else that took her interest she turned on the speakers and began streaming some of the road trip music she had been reminded off from the earlier conversation.</p><p>A few minutes had passed, she'd made a good dent in the crisps as the beer quenched the thirstiness the salty crisps inspired. Feeling her stomach become a little bloated she wriggled in her seat trying to get comfortable as her waistband and belt were digging in. Patting her stomach, she could feel just how swollen it was after such a filling meal, and she still had crisps to finish. It was at that point Max returned.</p><p>"Why don't you change and get comfortable?" She asked indicating her own loose pyjamas which was actually a pair of shorts and an old shirt of Chloe's that Max had rescued from the throw out pile by patching it up.</p><p>"No point now, I'm just gonna have to take them off again when I go to bed in a bit," Chloe dismissed as she chugged down the last of the bottle placing it on the coffee table out the way.</p><p>"Well, at least take of your belt and undo your pants, no need to stay all buttoned up now," Max suggested as she plopped down with a bounce jostling Chloe in the process.</p><p>"Ugggh," Chloe groaned as she felt how full she was, but she realised Max was right. No point staying all dressed up even if she was too lazy to change her entire outfit for the sake of an hour or so. Undoing the belt wasn't so bad as it was mostly the buckle digging in rather than the strap itself, but when it came to the button, her bloated belly was bulging against it making it harder to undo than normal.</p><p>Looking down at herself, Chloe could see just how rounded her gut was tonight as it swelled out, now free of the restrictive waistband, causing her shirt to fill out a little more. It definitely seemed like the good food and drink of recent years had been enjoyed often. But before she could formalise any thoughts about how her weight had increased she found her lap occupied by Max who had taken the opportunity to distract her with a kiss.</p><p>It wasn't a kiss filled with lust or even particularly passionate, but it conveyed a love and devotion that only comes with a level of contentment that had grown over time. She could feel Max's hands lightly pressed against her belly, not too hard to be uncomfortable but deliberate enough to feel good. She heard Max whisper for her to relax as the shorter woman peppered light kisses and nibbles along her jaw line, so she closed her eyes and sunk back against the cushions enjoying the gentle caresses of her love, who was slowly unbuttoning her shirt as she went.</p>
<hr/><p>The mid-morning sun shone through the blinds slowly bringing Chloe out of her unconscious state. The bed was otherwise empty as Max had left for work already, her diary having a day filled with client meetings from what she had said last night. Speaking off last night Chloe remembered just how Max had made her feel so good and hummed appreciatively at the memory.</p><p>Although that wasn't the only thing she remembered as she recalled just how full she had felt and swollen her belly had looked. Throwing off the covers she looked down at herself and saw her gut still looked a little bloated but not quite as much as it was before. She ran a hand down her middle and felt the soft layer of pudge that had built up giving it an experimental pinch. Deciding she needed a better look she hauled herself upright feeling the roll around her middle squish slightly as she did and headed to the bathroom where the scale and body length mirror were kept.</p><p>The mirror showed a few changes, some of which were in part due to her physical job, the more muscled arms and shoulders evident at a glance as she flexed them, but it was around her middle and hips she noticed a certain softness that hadn't been present before. No sign of the abs that had once been visible as a teen and young adult, now a covering of fat was obscuring them.</p><p>The scale didn't have any different news as the numbers showed her weight to be 162lbs, a good 35lbs heavier than she had been when they left Arcadia Bay all those years ago. Although, it was still in a healthy weight range for her height, so couldn't be too bad could it she tried to reason with herself.</p><p>Despite realising her weight gain had crept up on her, she allowed herself the cockiness to think she carried it well with the extra muscle too. And besides, despite the tightness of her jeans that was more noticeable these days it's not like Max had complained or become any less amorous toward her as a result. Not that she was concerned that Max would be so shallow to worry about things like that anyway.</p><p>But as she got dressed, and looked at how her clothes were fitting, or not fitting as it were, Chloe had the fleeting thought that maybe once work quietened down a bit, she could try getting into a more reasonable work pattern and start to cut back a little, or start going jogging or something, just so it doesn't get too out of hand.</p>
<hr/><p>A couple of months had passed, and work hadn't gotten any quieter, in fact with her being the lead tech at a main dealership the recent recalls of multiple models of car had in fact made sure she was constantly racking up the overtime. Which while good for the couple's savings it didn't exactly help with her plans to maybe get into better shape, instead those ideas were quickly abandoned.</p><p>Max had been away on a business trip for a couple weeks, although part of that included as short stay with Kate in Massachusetts on the way back. She had wanted to catch up since neither were going to attend the Blackwell 10-year reunion next year given the memories it would bring up.</p><p>Because of the absence of Max, Chloe had taken to ordering takeout every night. She loved cooking meals for them both but somehow Max's absence made cooking feel like a chore rather than enjoyable like it normally would be, so the local takeaways became her go to choice for a meal after a long day. She'd also taken to having a late-night snack since there wasn't much to distract her attention for an evening.</p><p>All of that had led to a further expansion of her middle as her shirt continued to fill out even when she hadn't yet eaten for the day. She'd had to give into that realisation when her work trousers became too tight to wear comfortably and the top button on her jeans wouldn't fasten, which had led to a frantic trip to the store to buy the next size up, although she kinda regretted not buying two sizes up as these weren't that much looser after a week and a half of eating like she had.</p><p>It had turned 10pm before she heard the familiar sound of keys jingling outside the front door, and while she had long since tidied up the evidence of her binge of Chinese food for dinner, she hadn't made any effort yet to clear away the crisp and sweetie wrappers left around from her evening snacking.</p><p>But that was far from her mind as Max was back, she quickly hopped up from the couch, and met her partner at the door, sweeping her up into a spin and into a passionate kiss as she returned Max to the ground.</p><p>"I take it you missed me, huh?" Max teased at the enthusiastic greeting.</p><p>"I always miss you when you're not around," Chloe admitted, no longer concerned with hiding how she felt like she might have done when they were younger.</p><p>"I missed you too, baby," Max replied before pulling her down into another long kiss, this time allowing hands to roam before settling down into light pecks of affection.</p><p>The couple headed back to the living room and sat on the couch as Max filled her in on what happened on the trip and how Kate was doing. It wasn't long into the conversation when she noticed Max observing the various empty wrappers sat out on the table, but she couldn't tell what was going through the photographer's mind at that moment. Especially when Max seemed to smile gently.</p><p>"I know it's late, but did you have a proper dinner?" she heard through her lost thoughts of trying to work out the expression on Max's face.</p><p>"Yeah, I got Chinese, but I uh," Chloe started, "I didn't get you any, I wasn't sure if you'd be back tonight or not with the weather. Sorry."</p><p>"It's fine, the airline sorted out dinner for us due to the delay, so I managed to get something at the airport," Max reassured her continuing with a little of her own insecurities coming through, "But I'm glad you've been eating so well while I've been away. I worry that you'll forget to eat or get stressed out like before…"</p><p>It was during some of their worse moments, in particular the first few times Max had left on a college or work trip without her, Chloe would often smoke rather than eat when dealing with her anxiety or stress which had led to her being a few pounds underweight at one point. But now, she had far better coping mechanisms to deal with those feelings and she had massively cut down on her smoking habit, refraining unless it was a social occasion.</p><p>"Hey, you don't need to worry about that," Chloe patted her belly, coughing nervously as she joked, "If anything, I think I've been eating a little too well recently."</p><p>It was easy to see why she would think that. Her jeans undone allowing her belly to bulge out freely, soft skin showing through the gaps between the buttons of her shirt as the material was stretched tighter than ever around the widest point made the consequence of her steadily increasing appetite obvious.</p><p>Max shook her head and smirked as she snuggled in further, her own hand joining Chloe's atop her belly giving it a playful poke, "Don't worry about it, I like you just the way you are."</p><p>"What do you mean?" Chloe frowned confused, but Max was pretty perceptive and had immediately realised the reason for her self-depreciating comment without her having to say. It was one of the reasons they had gotten through the difficult times, being able to cut through the surface appearances and get to the heart of what was bothering the other like that.</p><p>She felt Max's hand explore her expanded midriff, the photographer's finger lightly tracing around one of the wider gaps between the buttons of her shirt causing her to twitch as it tickled a little.</p><p>"I mean when we were younger you used to always seem so stressed out about life, about us. But this…" Rubbing her belly more firmly for a moment, Max revealed quietly, shyly looking up at the woman she loved, "it means I know you're happy, that you're taken care of…"</p><p>"You do take good care of me, babe," Chloe pulled her in closer and reassuringly embraced her. "I wouldn't have it any other way."</p><p>They both sighed contentedly against each other, allowing the peacefulness of the moment to linger, as Chloe thought to herself, <em>'if being taken care of like this means a few more pounds I think I can handle that.'</em></p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>'<em>If being taken care of like this means a few more pounds I think I can handle that.'</em></p><p>The memory of that thought circled around Chloe's head this morning. She was supposed to be getting dressed so the newly married couple could drive down to Arcadia Bay to visit her mother and step father for Thanksgiving Dinner this year, but getting dressed had been put on hold while her brain caught up reconciling the image in front of her with her mental self-image as she looked over her reflection.</p><p>Her thought had initially been right as her weight had found some kind of equilibrium. The same five or so pounds had come and gone over the last two and a half years and she'd stopped really keeping track. But now, she had taken a moment to stop and assess things she realised her weight had slowly crept up again. It wasn't <em>that</em> much more, her complacent side tried to reason, but the 189bs that the scales claimed she now weighed was definitely into the overweight category for her 5'9" height.</p><p>Her previous gain had been something she could get away ignoring as her face remained slim and being kinda lanky meant it could be written off as simply filling in her adult frame, but this… It was getting a bit more obvious now that even when clothed that she was looking a little more filled in. Her belly was rounding out, either pushing against the fabric of her shirts, or if a shorter cut, showing a little strip of skin under the lower hem.</p><p>More than an inch to pinch as the saying went, but it was still nothing major in the grand scheme of things. Her height made it look better proportioned than it might look on someone shorter and she could definitely blame a good few of those pounds on building more muscle as she felt stronger than ever. Which made work a bit easier since lugging heavy bits of car around wasn't as much effort as it had been.</p><p>Her broader shoulders were testament to this not being entirely in her imagination either. Max had even complimented her on how strong she was getting after a recent bout of energetic love making when she had lifted Max against the wall before carrying her to the bed, albeit with Max's legs wrapped around her so she hadn't been support her whole weight alone. But she couldn't deny or hide the slightly softer look to her face as her cheeks weren't quite as defined, her chin not quite as pointed as it once was.</p><p>But her musing came to end when she heard Max holler from the hallway to hurry up if she wanted to make it onto the highway before the rush of holiday travellers did the same.</p>
<hr/><p>Finally dressed in her favourite jeans, which were a size larger than those she had worn at the start of the year, and a new leather jacket to replace her threadbare one she'd had since high school, Chloe bounded down the hall to find Max at the front door waiting on her.</p><p>"Hey there, Cutie Pie," Chloe greeted her with a roguish smirk, "You ready?"</p><p>"Yup, I put our bags in the truck already," Max rolled her eyes at Chloe's antics, although she loved the playfulness this morning she was a little stressed as it was the first time they were visiting Joyce since getting married. They hadn't even visited her own parents yet either as they figured Joyce might be the easier of the two to handle when it came to answering why they had eloped all of a sudden after a long engagement.</p><p>"C'mon, Mom loves you," Chloe tried to reassure her, "If she gives either of us shit, it'll be me. Same as always."</p><p>"Yeah, you're right," Max took a deep breath and shook her head with a slight chuckle, "I mean even when it was me who started something, you were the one that got in trouble."</p><p>"To be fair to her, it usually was me so it's no wonder," Chloe joked back nudging her wife toward the door, "Now, let's get a move on, we can stop off at that donut shop before we hit the road."</p><p>The pair headed out and climbed into the cab of Chloe's truck, settling into the recently reupholstered bench seat and buckling up.</p><p>"I've been looking forward to having Joyce's cooking again. Her Turkey is always so moist," Max chattered as they pulled out of the parking lot of their building. "Every time I've tried to cook it, it's always so dry and tough."</p><p>"That's because she uses a shit ton of butter, dude," Chloe recalled from helping as a kid to make Thanksgiving dinner. "Seriously the amount she uses, I wouldn't be surprised if even you gain a few pounds this weekend."</p><p>"If I'm lucky maybe it'll go to my boobs," Max joked self-deprecatingly, even though by now she knew that ship sailed after puberty ended long ago. "Besides, if I do you'll probably eat twice as much as I do."</p><p>"Yeah yeah," Chloe dismissed but she knew Max was right. She always did have the larger appetite of the two even as a kid and these days it wasn't exactly uncommon for her to indulge a fair bit more.</p>
<hr/><p>The drive took longer than expected, mainly due to road works along the way taking the highway down to two lanes shortly after getting out of Portland, but they made it down not too long after lunch time. Making a stop off at the rebuilt Two Whales diner to eat before driving up into the hills toward Chloe's childhood home.</p><p>When they pulled up in the driveway Chloe spotted David headfirst in the engine bay of his muscle car, or penis replacement as Chloe always joked about his choice of mid-life crisis car. He waved to them and shouted he'd join them inside shortly wiping his hands on a nearby rag.</p><p>Once inside Joyce made a beeline for them greeting them enthusiastically, wrapping both of them into a bear hug as best she could. But as soon as the hugs were done she turned to Chloe with an infuriated look only a mother can give.</p><p>"Don't think I've forgiven either of you for running off an' getting married without even sending me a text," She ranted as had been expected by the couple.</p><p>"C'mon Mom," Chloe tried to placate her somewhat unconvincingly, "I've already said we were sorry besides, you should have expected it after everything, ya know."</p><p>"I might have expected it from <em>you</em>," Joyce tutted emphasising the 'you' toward Chloe and shaking her head, "but that's not going to stop me from reading the pair of you the riot act just because I can."</p><p>At that Chloe rolled her eyes and wandered off with a huff in search of beer, finding David's stash in the fridge already chilled nicely.</p><p>"We are sorry Joyce, but Chloe's right," Max has the good sense to at least look slightly embarrassed by the telling off but even she couldn't help but snicker and reply in kind, "I don't think it was going to be any other way with us."</p><p>As Joyce accepted that she couldn't really blame them considering everything they had been through, the three of them heard the garage door open and close as David returned having shed his oil stained overshirt and washed up.</p><p>"Yo," Chloe greeted him from the dining table raising her bottle in acknowledgement.</p><p>"Every damn year," he grumbled on his way past where Chloe was slouched in a chair, "Better not drink them all, those are for tomorrow."</p><p>"Chill out," Chloe smirked and replied with a little bit of sarcasm in her tone that was still a hard habit to break even this many years later, "there's a store down the road, can always buy another six pack."</p><p>"Play nice you two," Joyce called out, trying to keep the peace, "That's the only beer you're having today unless you go buy yourself some more."</p><p>"Hi David," Max greeted once the rabble had quietened down a little.</p><p>"Max," He nodded as he and Joyce turned their focus toward the photographer.</p><p>The conversation soon became about Max's recent gallery showing being covered in the paper and the glowing reviews. Joyce reiterates how proud she is of them both for getting on in life despite the difficulties and she's glad they've done so well over the years.</p><p>"Thanks Joyce," Max accepted the praise even though it still makes her uncomfortable to be fawned over at times. "You know me and Chloe were thinking we might have enough to start looking at buying somewhere pretty soon too."</p><p>"Yeah," Chloe added, "We were thinking somewhere out of the city a little though. I want somewhere with a garage and Max is kinda fed up with the amount of noisy neighbours that we've dealt with since she mostly works at home."</p><p>"If you're getting a garage you should maybe get a truck that doesn't look like such a death trap to put in it so your neighbours don't wonder if your setting up a junkyard." David joked in his slightly awkward way.</p><p>"Hell no," Chloe rebutted, "I've done all the repair work on it myself, I'm not getting rid of it. Besides there's no way that truck will die before I do."</p><p>It had seen more years on this earth than she had, and the rust was on ongoing battle, but The Beast was still in great running order for a truck of over 40 years old. At some point she'd lost track of how much she's spent on various parts, much to Max's frustration, but her wife had never actually complained. Especially as she had explained it meant she got to watch Chloe in her element, head deep in a project, the sleeves of her overalls rolled up showing that she had been hard at work as they became increasingly streaked with oil.</p>
<hr/><p>After they had all caught up and dropped their bags upstairs, the pair excused themselves for the evening to have a drive around town. Part Nostalgia trip, and part to settle the anxiety that had been gnawing at them being so close to Blackwell again. Even though they had been there a few times in the years in between, the feeling never really left them but tonight things were different. When they saw the campus so quiet and that nothing was strange other than the two of them being 30 odd year-old women staring at a high school in the dark as security raised an eyebrow in their direction, they felt that lingering tension ease completely.</p><p>Their trip around town ended as it often had up at the lighthouse looking over the rebuilt promenade and main streets of town. It was then that Chloe revealed she had packed a couple of pre rolled joints with her.</p><p>"It was just in case either of us needed one to chill after today," Chloe tried to explain but conceded at Max's questioning look. "Ok, more if I needed to chill after Mom tore me a new one but she went easy on us it seems."</p><p>"That's probably because she realised it was a lost cause going any harder," Max responded cuddling in beside Chloe on the bench, "If you want to smoke, I don't mind."</p><p>"You know I don't really smoke alone anymore," Chloe shrugged, a sly smile growing as she saw an opportunity to flirt, "But I could be tempted if the pretty girl next to me decided to join me."</p><p>In the early years of their relationship that would have elicited a shy giggle and a blush, but Max was long used to Chloe's cheesy flirting and simply leaned in to kiss her on the cheek, which Chloe took correctly as her agreement to the offer.</p>
<hr/><p>The next night after Joyce's great Thanksgiving feast had been enjoyed by all, Chloe migrated over to the couch to get comfortable. Her gut stuffed after the mountain of food she just ate and barely resisting slipping into a food coma as Max and Joyce busied themselves in the kitchen cleaning up and chatting. David meanwhile had made himself scarce offering to handle the bins and taking his sweet time about it to avoid being roped into drying duties.</p><p>When he returned he passed by the fridge grabbing the last two bottles and opening them before joining Chloe in the living room, offering up the beer to his stepdaughter as an olive branch of sorts. Accepting the beer Chloe clinked it against David's as he took up residence in the chair diagonal from her.</p><p>While their relationship was better than it had been when Chloe still lived with him, it had grown into something that was less stepparent/stepdaughter and more that of two adults who chosen to get along for the sake of Joyce. They'd definitely found it easier to build that sort of truce between them once they had more space and the more overt antagonism had ceased.</p><p>"Cheers. Ugh…Mom outdid herself with that meal tonight," Chloe continued as she absentmindedly rubbed her swollen gut, "Not gonna need to eat for a week."</p><p>At that David snort laughed in the way that used to set Chloe's teeth grinding as a teen as he would usually come out with some lame attempt at a joke after, and while it didn't set her on edge anymore it definitely still preceded an attempt at humour from him.</p><p>"Looks like married life is treating you well?" he prompted with a raised eyebrow, having obviously spotted her increased weight since he last saw her in person. He knew he was proverbially poking the dragon as Chloe glared at him, but it was without much actual fire behind the look.</p><p>"Hey, I'm not ragging on you," He raised his hands up in a surrender style motion to hold off any sort of response, "It's good to see you and Max so settled. Your mother was worried for a while after you both left town so suddenly after graduation."</p><p>"It's…," She began, looking down and fiddling with the label on her bottle, "We needed to work things out, just the two of us."</p><p>It had taken Chloe some time to learn how to read David and sometimes she still couldn't, but she spotted a flash of guilt across her stepfather's face for a moment before he spoke that made it clear he was still struggling with his own demons from back then. "I know I had my part in making that difficult for you both."</p><p>"You can stop hitting yourself over that, dude," Chloe shook her head. He had made things harder, but she'd gotten over that a long time ago. "Max and I just needed… time."</p><p>She couldn't help the huff of a laugh at her own wording, much to David's confused look. Neither she or Max had ever shared the specifics of what happened back then with anyone else, both of them having felt even more broken in the aftermath to even try. Time, and distance, had been needed for healing to be remotely possible.</p><p>"You are happy though, right?" He asked, his usually gruff tone giving away the sincerity of his question.</p><p>"Yeah," she answered honestly without hesitation, "We are."</p><p>"Good," He continued at her curious expression, "I'm glad you were able to find peace… It's not something that many can."</p><p>She knew he was speaking from a personal place, having lost a few of his army buddies over the years to various reasons, both in service and those who had gotten out and struggled with life.</p><p>"How about you?" She asked with genuine concern having heard her mother talk about how David struggled with things and experienced first-hand how he used to be at his worst.</p><p>"Your mother helps," He started, taking a swig before continuing, "A decent therapist and meds too. But your mother…"</p><p>He didn't need to finish the thought as Chloe understood what he was saying. A heart to heart with David wasn't what she had expected of the day, but she found herself genuinely rooting for him and promised herself she'd try to make more of an effort to reach out.</p>
<hr/><p>Later on, after a few more drinks and a couple slices of pie Max had acquired for them the pair returned to the room that they had spent much of their childhood and later years sharing. It wasn't quite the same after the damage caused by the storm, and Chloe's belongings and furniture were many hundreds of miles away in their apartment, but it still felt like their space away from the world.</p><p>With Joyce and David still downstairs enjoying some quiet time of their own, the couple laid on the bed chatting about how the day went. Chloe talked about how she was going to spend some time with David helping him with his car in the morning before they planed drive back home and Max caught her up on what she and Joyce had talked about over a glass of wine.</p><p>"Fuck, I still feel like a stuffed sausage after eating all that," Chloe complained tugging at her waistband, "I need these jeans off."</p><p>"That's why I took mine off already," Max pointed out as she'd thrown hers off to the side almost as soon as they had entered the room.</p><p>"Seriously though," Chloe grumbled more. Standing up from the bed and unbuttoning her shirt before rubbing her swollen middle, "I feel like I've gained a couple pounds from that meal alone."</p><p>"If you haven't you'll just have to try harder next year to beat your record," Max joked as Chloe did often put on a few pounds around the holidays even if she ended up losing them, or at least most of them.</p><p>"Ugh," Chloe groaned as she sucked in her gut. Her jeans were pretty damn tight, not so tight that she had trouble getting into them this morning but because she was still so bloated from dinner it felt like more effort than it should have been to unfasten them. But with the difficult button undone she shimmied her way out of the offending denim wandering over to grab her PJ's from the pile beside their bags where they had been discarded in the morning.</p><p>She noticed out the corner of her eye as she flipped her shirt right side out that Max was clearly enjoying the sight of her wandering around in just her boxers and bra as her currently swollen gut pressed out against the waistband of her underwear causing it to fold slightly.</p><p>"What?" Max prompted when she saw Chloe's questioning look at her attention, which earned her a face full of Chloe's shirt as her wife flung it in her direction. Pulling the item of clothing from her head she quietly watched as Chloe quickly removed her bra and changed her boxers for her looser PJ shorts before coming back toward the bed.</p><p>"I should really do something about this thing," Chloe stated patting her mid-section, but it felt more like a question than a statement. As much as she knew how Max felt there was always a little insecurity in her mind when she felt she'd overdone it, "I mean eating like this is having a pretty big effect these days..."</p><p>"Hmm, I'm not exactly complaining about that," Max replied coyly as she pulled Chloe back onto the bed and guiding her on top of her.</p><p>Chloe leaned in, her swollen belly filling the space between them as she captured her wife's lips. Using her height and weight to her advantage as she pinned Max's hands above her head causing her to arch her back to press herself into Chloe's body as much as possible, moaning into the kiss.</p><p>"Careful with that sort of comment," Chloe teased as she pulled back, easing up on her hold but still keeping Max underneath her, "I might get the idea that you're feeding me up."</p><p>Max giggled that nervous giggle that came out when she felt butterflies in her stomach. At this stage she definitely wasn't keeping it a secret that she liked seeing her wife kept well fed but it wasn't so intentional as to be that sort of dynamic for them.</p><p>"You take such good care of me, babe" Chloe had spotted the chance to play with Max some more and leaned in closer, whispering seductively in her ear, "I might end up the size of a house if I let you have your way."</p><p>While she had no intention of taking things that far, for Max the idea was fun to think about. Her face was crimson as she bit her lip, rubbing her legs together as Chloe brought her full weight down, again kissing her soundly once more before moving to nibble at the delicate collar bone in a way that Max went wild for.</p><p>"Just think about how much tighter my clothes would get," Chloe carried on teasing, enjoying that Max was about ready to burst without even touching her. "My shirt riding up as you keep on bringing me beers and snacks all evening, my jeans straining to stay fastened, buttons about to <em>pop</em>"</p><p>"Oh, Chlo," Max sighed in need as Chloe continued to work her magic before eventually giving Max what she so sorely needed.</p><p>It was after the two had come back to planet earth from on high, that Max rolled onto her side to face Chloe. Her hands, almost by instinct, finding their way to her wife's middle as she lightly traced shapes with her fingertips across the slightly wider expanse of belly.</p><p>But Chloe could tell there was something on Max's mind, there was a slight unease in the woman in her arms as she softly rubbed her back to encourage her to open up.</p><p>"Before," Max began hesitantly, "when you said about me feeding you to the size of a house…"</p><p>Chloe nuzzled her and kissed the top of her head reassuringly urging her to continue.</p><p>"I'd still be just as attracted to you as I am now if you were," she continued slightly frustrated at herself trying to find the words, "but I mean I'm not… I wouldn't ask you to, ugh…"</p><p>"I know you aren't dude, chill," Chloe chuckled, she knew what Max was trying to say and cut her off, hugging her firmly. "I was just teasing you, besides, I know what gets you're motor revving some days."</p><p>While it never really came up as a topic of conversation beyond when Chloe had originally realised Max was into that sort of thing a little more than just seeing her in a tight shirt, Chloe had been happy enough to indulge her wife's fantasies on occasion and it seemed like tonight had been a good opportunity to do so.</p><p>At that Max relaxed fully as Chloe felt the tension in her dissipate below her fingers from where they were lightly trailing along the length of Max's back. She felt Max snuggle in further and playfully tickled her sides before holding her once more.</p><p>"I love you, Chloe," Max sleepily mumbled placing a kiss on her neck before wriggling into a comfortable position, her hand gently resting over Chloe's middle gently brushing a thumb.</p><p>"I love you too, Max" Chloe replied, kissing the top of her wife's head again and laying back to let sleep claim them both.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>If you want to see more Life is Strange content I have a Deviant Art where I will be posting about the short text adventure game I have been working on. Hoping to release that soon as only have a few scenes left to write.</p><p>You can find me on Deviant Art under the same name TotalObesity so please check it out if you want to see that - https://www.deviantart.com/totalobesity</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is a quick one shot I wrote up this last weekend. I've had the idea in the background for a while but felt inspired. Totally not procrastinating on working on the game by doing this instead. </p><p>Hope you enjoy a little more subtle approach on this one as more realistic spread that comes with some relationships as you get comfortable with life and yourself over time.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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